Berlin microcosm here?

Just landed, Jay has kindly offered loan of a bike for me to go on a solo whistle stop tour of the city tomorrow. I’m staying central close to the wall museum, gonna be stopping at all the usual famous spots as I’m an architectural freak. Great tips @c.h.e. I’ve read great things about Kreuzberg so will be checking out that district and the places you have listed..
cheers
Al

Glorious weather on Friday, more pics to follow

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sightseeing pics from Almac

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.. police presence at Aeroflot and Russian Embassy with planned anti war protest supporting Ukraine this weekend.

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Came across many memorial plaques in the pavements for holocaust victims on my ride.

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this building (one of many) sited within 55 hectares of landscaped Schlosspark Charlottenburg.

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Schwares Café, great laid back venue for weekend brunch with kaiserschmarrn

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after a great day in the saddle drinking in a local bar. There’s a lot I didn’t see, so I need to return. @Jay75 was great to meet you and thank you for your tips and bike loan, was perfect for a day out riding.

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Came across many memorial plaques in the pavements for holocaust victims on my ride.

They're called "Stolpersteine", or 'stumbling stones'.

thanks Oliver, I will read up on these. That must have been quite a project to collect all the victim’s details and set them across the city. Is this nationwide across the country?

Here's more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolperstein

It's not just in Germany, but everywhere people were from who were murdered. It's ongoing.

I don't know where the data comes from, but the Shoah at least is well-documented and a huge effort has been made, and is likewise probably ongoing, to collect information about the victims. I don't know about the Porajmos, but obviously the "Stolpersteine" are for all the victims--from the above article:

The majority of Stolpersteine commemorate Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Others have been placed for Sinti and Romani people (then also called "gypsies"), homosexuals, the physically or mentally disabled, Jehovah's Witnesses, black people, members of the Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the anti-Nazi Resistance, the Christian opposition (both Protestants and Catholics), and Freemasons, along with International Brigade soldiers in the Spanish Civil War, military deserters, conscientious objectors, escape helpers, capitulators, "habitual criminals", looters, and others charged with treason, military disobedience, or undermining the Nazi military, as well as Allied soldiers.

Thanks Oliver, I see the importance of the Stolpersteine project, with me stumbling across them either on foot or on bike. now whenever I visit mainland Europe, I will know their significance.

45,000 Stolpersteine across Europe already makes this the largest memorial in the world

Lovely meeting you @almac68 and those are better pics of that bike than I’ve ever taken! Hope you come back to Berlin for a visit, a lot of folk don’t realize how it’s really still like 2 cities (east and west)…..
Also Meine Bar is shite not worth a visit at all and no tourists allowed (;

yep Meine Bar definitely a bit rubbish, for locals only ;) should be renamed the meh bar..

for a few days it felt good to be European again, despite the airport border check questioning and having stamps in / out added to my passport.

For decades it seems that Berlin was a zombie city, with a split personality after WW2, such resilience and vision to bring back to the vibrant city we see today.

I only really ventured west on the bike. Next time I return I will explore more of the east. Thanks again for making my first visit warm welcoming and memorable.

I rode to the outdoor track in Fredersdorf-Vogelsdorf (about 10km east of Berlin) with my fixed-peers group and gave it a spin, was very nice. we rode from Friedrichshain, from there it is about 23 km, no biggie. The track was built in 1956 and is still in use today. Fun fact, in 1957 the GDR national championships in Madison was held here. Winners were Hans Wagner and Heinz Wahl(pictured below) .

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That’s cool! Did you have to get tickets to ride there?

i jumped the fence.....

Sweet :) too bad I don’t have a fixed with me in Berlin. Might have to relocate one from my stash at my folks place :D

Sick! I never even knew there was a track there. U doing regs fixed rides? I just got a fixed beater after years of not having one

thanks! I do semi-regular rides with some friends, and I believe the fxd.bln crew hosts a weekly nightride every wednesday starting from Volksbühne.

Just trying my luck as recently moved to Berlin - looking for a lagerraum/werkstatt/basement etc to store & work on my bikes. On Kleinanzeigen there hasn't really popped up much, so wondering if anyone had any leads/suggestions of where to look?

if you're searching for a basement, maybe ask your neighbors first. Someone usually knows what compartment is free or how to get one if the landlord won't provide you one. kleinanzeigen is still the best spot to look for these things, but depends on your district, too.

hey ho everyone, me and 2 blokes want to do a little ride saturday, we start 9:30ish at Schönhauser Allee / Kopenhagener Str. and head down to the bike flea market in Kreuzberg - Köpenicker Str. 11 (10-17h opening times) and maybe to the Standert Showroom later.

Should be in Berlin at the end of next month @bsb you still there right?